Final details for the auction of digital radio spectrum that will allow high-speed Internet access have now emerged. There are 51 companies going for 42 licences throughout the UK and initial expectations are that the government could rake in £1 billion. The planned launch date for the auctions has been set back from this summer to a provisional 16 October.

Microsoft is the number two contributor to the committee hosting the Republican convention with a donation of $1 million according to a Bloomberg report. And number one, since you ask, is that other old breakup hand, AT&T.

Microsoft is gearing up to neutralise one of its biggest ongoing embarrassments - the fact that its Hotmail service runs on FreeBSD/Apache. According to Netcraft's July Web Server Survey, Microsoft has started to move some Windows 2000 machines into the Hotmail load balancing pool; all being well, this will be the beginning of a migration.

In a fabulous worldwide webfest building up to the launch of Windows ME on 14 September, M$ invites anyone in the world (as long as they live in the US or Canada - oh, and not you, Quebec, you're out as well) to enter a prize draw to win a copy of ME autographed by Bill Gates.

Chimpzilla's codename strategy has been thrown into confusion according to JC's Pages. It appears that US car maker Chevrolet doesn't wish to be associated with high technology and has thrown a wobbler over AMD's use of the Corvette and Camaro codenames for its forthcoming mobile Athlons and Durons.

The Pentium III 1.13GHz monster comes under scrutiny at Planet Hardware today. The guys run it head to head with the one gig Athlon T'Bird, just for fun, on what they call "mainstream benchmarks". Go forth and seek knowledge - or at least more info.

Okay, it looks like we're finally getting somewhere with WAP. Many people have baulked at the constant condemnation of WAP as a poor way of leading the world of wireless communications forward, but it seems as though that is the emerging consensus. The dream of a large group of companies to build a proprietary mobile standard is falling apart thanks to the fact that a) it's rubbish and b) that Japan's i-Mode has shown it up by being far more successful.

A joint venture between communications company Qualcomm and motor giant Ford is set to provide wireless services and Internet access for motor vehicles. Initially, the new venture will be known as Wingcast.

Following Barclays' cock-up yesterday, we were surprised to discover that Virgin customers have been unable to access their online accounts since this morning. Has it been the victim of a bank-hating hacker? Has it pulled its service ASAP following a security breach?

Opinion
Intel has never detailed exactly how many of its CPUs it ships - at any speed. But at the high end the word on the street is that, over the past three months, AMD probably shipped more than a dozen 1GHz CPUs for every Intel chip of the same speed.

Intel has snapped up Los Angeles-based Trillium Digital Systems for $300 million in cash and Intel stock. The deal is aimed at bolstering Intel's backbone networking and telecommunications offerings. Trillium's software is typically used by suppliers of SS7, IP, ATM, Wireless and ISDN products.

According to the Financial Times yesterday, "Internet hotels threaten to sap London's power". We rubbed our chins while we read that the plan to build a whole range of "Internet hotels" - known to you and me as data centres - in London was going to bring down the National Grid and leaving poor old Mrs Miggins without the watts to make herself a decent brew in the morning.

Episode 28
Episode 28
So you think you've got some idea of what hardware's all about then? Think MAYBE you could mix it with the big boys of computer repair and come out relatively unscathed? Well now's the time to put it to the test!
1. You hear a loud clatter from one of the fan units of a machine you're servicing. An Amber FAN light …

Apple is developing a handwriting recognition software bundle, according to a report by Matt Rothenberg over at ZDNet. Nicknamed Inkwell, it would appear that the software was conceived for use on the now discontinued Apple Newtons.

Pity poor ATI. The graphics company does appear to have aroused the wrath of Apple CEO Steve Jobs for daring to pre-announce some of the new Mac kit Jobs himself was set to unveil during his MacWorld Expo keynote t'other day.

Less than a week after Mac scuttlebutt site MacOS Rumors pulled a couple of stories about a new, cubic Mac enclosure, allegedly at the behest of Apple's legal department, rival rumour site AppleInsider has published a report that confirms - in part, at least - its rival's articles.

Updated
Apple's relationship with graphics specialist ATI appears untroubled by talk of a deal between the Mac maker and Nvidia, and calls from 3dfx for a more level playing field in the Mac 3D graphics accelerator biz.

Yesterday, we noticed that Apple had gagged Mac-oriented Web site MacOS Rumors, forcing the site to remove a couple of stories. The articles claimed Apple is working on a cube-shaped follow-up to the popular iMac.